


Agenda

by MoonWindDancer



Category: Emergency!
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-12 01:44:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16863877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonWindDancer/pseuds/MoonWindDancer
Summary: Strange dreams, mysterious symbols, unexplainable physical symptoms. What can it mean to Station 51's engineer and his fellow firefighters?





	1. Dreams

Head tossing.  
*Flashes of light, searing, blinding, white, no wait, all the colors of the spectrum. I try closing my eyes, but they won't close! *

Whimpering.  
*Whispers, no, scratches, no, whining? Where are these noises coming from? Did I just hear screaming? *

Muscles twitching.  
*Touches, all over me, dry, cold, no comfort offered, just the touches. Moving me. Why can't I move my own body? *

Shivering.  
*Cold, so very cold, numbing all the way through to my bones cold. No, wait, it's getting warmer, sunny beach warmer. No, please, it's middle of a burning building hot! *

Panting.  
*Pain, annoying at first, then excruciating, devastating, 'Oh, please, God, kill me now' pain. *

Fists clenching.  
*Pressure. All around, even through me. A voice? In my head? "Increase. I want to know what it's limits are." Oh, crap, this doesn't sound good, not at all. Suddenly, more pressure, steady, crushing, inside and out, more, more, until.....Screaming? Who's screaming? Oh, God, it's ME! *

Nothingness.

Gasping, Mike Stoker bolted upright in his bed, struggling to pull air into his lungs. Throwing off his sweat-drenched sheet, he sat on the side of his bed, skin cooling in his air-conditioned bedroom, trying to make some sense out of the images that were running through his mind.

The longer he sat there, the less clear the images became, finally muddling into some hazy morass at the back of his mind. "No more burritos before bed" he mumbled, as he lay back down, trying to sleep before his alarm rang. But sleep eluded him, so he finally got up to shower and get ready for the day to come at work. And dreading the night he must spend there, hoping against hope for peaceful slumber. 

****************************************************************************************************************

"Good morning, good morning, good morning, everybody!" The strident tones of John Gage echoed through the locker room. "I do hope everybody had as great a weekend as I did!"

Mike glanced over at Roy DeSoto, raised an eyebrow, then continued dressing, shaking his head. Roy sighed, "Alright, I'll bite. Who was it this time?"

"Who was it? Only Becky from Pediatrics on Saturday, then Tricia from Physical Therapy on Sunday. Man, that Tricia can do a massage..." John's further explanations were cut short by Captain Hank Stanley's directive, "Roll call. Two minutes."

Roll call over, work assignments doled out, (Chet Kelly earning his usual latrine duty for being last to arrive), Mike found himself outside to wash and hang hose with Marco Lopez. Work rolled smoothly, conversation light, as the two competently took care of the soiled hoses, and reloaded the clean, dry hoses onto the bed of "Big Red", Engine 51.

Drying their hands, both headed for the dayroom, Marco stating, "Man, I hope John made fresh coffee. He may not be a gourmet chef, but mmmm he makes great coffee."

Mike turned to acknowledge Marco's statement, when Marco's hand shot out, grabbing Mike's forearm, pulling him into the kitchen. "Mike? Amigo, your nose is bleeding!" Grabbing paper towels, he gave them to Mike to put pressure on it. as he steered his crewmate to a chair, pushing him into it.

"Cap, John, Roy, Chet!" Marco yelled, bringing all of the members of Station 51 to the area, "We need some help here!"

"Roy, get the equipment, John, wanna check him out? Mike, what happened?" Cap asked, as he gave Mike fresh paper towels and threw the blood-soaked ones into the trash can that Chet helpfully brought over.

"Mike, pinch your nostrils together and put your head forward" John instructed, hands automatically checking Mike's pulse rate. "did you hit your nose on anything? Any pain in the area?"

"No, I didn't even know it was bleeding until Marco said something." Mike answered, as he dutifully followed the paramedic's instructions. "Look, it's nothing. I'm fine. It's stopping. See?" He pulled the towels away, where no fresh blood was seen. By this time, Roy was back and with practiced hands, was wrapping the blood pressure cuff around Mike's arm, while John's hand had moved to Mike's abdomen to count his respirations.

"Pulse is 88, respirations 20." John intoned. "BP's 120/74" Roy completed. "Looks like it stopped. Do you have any dizziness, nausea, pain anywhere?" He asked Mike, helping him to sit up straight in the chair. A damp cloth was carefully used by John to clean up the engineer's face, as all eyes were glued to their crewmate.

"No, guys, I'm fine. No problems. I was hiking yesterday, maybe I got into some pollen or something. I'm perfectly okay." Mike said as he stood up. "No dizziness or anything." 

"Okay, but try not to pick at or blow your nose, okay? And let us know if it happens again." Roy said.

"Thanks, guys." Mike said, as he headed to the locker room to change his uniform shirt.

"What do you think, guys?" Cap asked, "Do we just watch him? Call Rampart?" 

"I don't think Rampart is necessary unless it's severe or too many of them. Let's just watch. I might let Doc Brackett know if we get a run into Rampart, see if he suggests anything different." Roy responded. 

"Okay everyone, excitement's over. Back to work, all." Cap ordered. Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he shook the almost-empty pot and said, "John, that's some great coffee. Mind giving us a repeat performance?"

John laughed, gave a short bow, and replied, "Nothing like a command performance, huh, Your Majesty, Sir?" 

"You got it, pal. And now, your King has to retreat to attack the mountains of royal paperwork awaiting me. Let me know when more is ready, okay?" Cap said, as he left for his office.

Now with a clean uniform, Mike returned to the kitchen, sitting down with his notebook and textbook. Re-evaluation for his Engineer's designation was coming up, and Mike used almost every spare minute he had on studying.

"Coffee's done, Cap! Want me to bring you a cup?" John yelled.

"No, I'll come get it myself. Give me a chance to stretch my legs and uncross my eyeballs." Cap laughed. "I swear this paperwork is in there breeding - every time I finish one, I find two more!" He refilled his cup, and came over to sit next to Mike at the table. "How ya doing there, Michael?"

Mike did not answer. He was sitting in front of the opened textbook, looking straight ahead, eyes appearing glazed. His left hand was clenching and unclenching, while his right was moving quickly across the notebook, pencil making what appeared to to be some strange kind of shapes or symbols.

"Mike? Hey, Michael, you in there, pal?" Cap questioned, snapping his fingers in front of Mike's eyes. On the fourth snap, Mike startled, left hand jerking upward and in front of his face, almost in a defensive move. "Woah there, Mike, take it easy! Didn't mean to scare you, pal, you okay?" Cap asked.

Mike nodded, "Guess I kind of zoned out for a bit there. Any coffee left?"

"Here ya go." Chet brought Mike a fresh cup of coffee, and glanced down at the notebook. "Wow! Since when did you learn how to do that Egyptian picture writing stuff?"

"What do you mean, Chet? It's just doodling." Mike answered.

"I mean, it looks like that program we saw on TV about King Tut's burial tomb, remember?" Chet continued.

"Probably that's where I saw them, and just scribbled them while I was studying." Mike smiled, "I've been at the books for so long, I bet I could write ancient Sumerian symbols by now!"

"Well, take a break, because lunch is served" Roy announced, putting out the ingredients for submarine sandwiches along with a fresh fruit salad, while John and Marco set the table. Just as the last bite was eaten, Station 51 got toned out for an MVA about 5 miles down the road. Two cars were involved, and only minor injuries, with both drivers signing that they were going to their own doctors.

As Cap was walking towards the engine, he noticed Mike was sitting on the running board, hands over his face. "Michael? You okay?" he asked.

"No" came the muffled reply. Mike pulled his hands away, and Cap noticed they were covered in blood. Blood that was pouring steadily out of Mike's nose.

"Gage! DeSoto! Bring the gear!" he yelled. Both paramedics came on the run, as well as Chet and Marco.

"It's not stopping, I've had pressure on it for awhile." Mike said quietly, looking confused. "What's happening to me?"


	2. Rampart

"Mike, I don't know, but I think we need to get you to Rampart. Hold on and we'll get your vitals." Roy replied, as he and John both repeated their actions from earlier in the shift.

"Rampart Base, this is Rescue 51" John said into the biophone.

The reply was immediate. Dr. Kelly Brackett answered, "Go ahead 51, this is Rampart Base."

"Rampart, we have a 33 year old Code I with severe epistaxis, does not respond to pressure. He had a minor one approximately 4 hours ago, that one stopped by pressure. Has no history of nosebleeds. Does not take any blood thinners or aspirin routinely. BP 110/54, pulse 116, respirations 28. Is alert and oriented times 3, pupils equal and reactive to light. No obvious signs of trauma. Be advised patient is Mike Stoker."

"10-4 51. Continue with pressure. Any nausea, vomiting, headaches, vertigo?" Dr. Brackett asked.

"Negative." John answered. "Rampart, can he be transported via the squad? We're only 5 minutes from you, and ambulance ETA would be 25 minutes if we waited." John asked.

"Go ahead, 51. Transport via Squad 51, ASAP. Continue with pressure. Tell Stoker NOT to swallow any blood, to spit it into an emesis basin."

"10-4 Rampart. We're on our way." John said, then helped Mike to the squad, while the others helped with equipment, and Cap called into dispatch for a replacement engineer.

The ride to Rampart was quick and quiet, no one saying much, just John or Roy asking Mike if he was doing okay. Mike's answer was only nodding his head, as blood continued with its steady drip.

By the time they arrived, Mike's skin color had started to become pale. Both paramedics tried to convince their reluctant patient to sit in the wheelchair. Mike started to protest, when Head Nurse Dixie McCall walked out, surveyed the scene, and stated, "In the chair. Now." Mike meekly complied, thinking, *Who in their right mind would cross swords with THIS woman?*, as both Roy and John grinned at each other.

Ten minutes later, Mike was half undressed, (waist up), gowned, and had a new set of vitals taken. Dr. Brackett entered, looking at a thoroughly miserable Mike Stoker, sitting on the examination table.

" Well, Mike, looks like today isn't starting off too well for you. Two nosebleeds already? Did you think of anything that may have caused them? Any falls, hits to the nose, anything?" He asked, as he thoroughly examined Mike, looking up his nose with a lighted speculum. " Ah, here it is - looks like a pretty bad abrasion on the anterior portion of the nasal passage."

"Is that good or bad, Doc?" Roy asked.

" Well, that's definitely preferable to a posterior located wound. They're harder to stop the bleeding. Speaking of which, Mike, what I'm going to do is spray some numbing medicine up your nose on this right side, then take this wooden stick here, which has a medicine called Silver Nitrate on it, and essentially cauterize the wound. It won't hurt, but it may not smell too good. After about 10 to 15 seconds, I'll remove the stick, and place sterile gauze packing in there. I want to keep you overnight, then let you go home in the morning. We'll take the packing out before you go, and you can resume your regular activities. Any questions?"

Mike shook his head, clearly not pleased at his enforced incarceration at Rampart overnight, but, surprisingly discovered he was very tired all of a sudden. "Go for it, Doc. All I want to do is stop this bleeding crap and go to sleep. I'm exhausted. "

"Sure, Mike. I'm concerned with the blood loss, your pallor, and fatigue. I'm going to get blood work done on you, and put an IV in you for overnight, build up your fluids. Who knows, you might need some blood to top off your tank." Dr. Brackett replied, nodding to Dixie, when Mike interjected, "I have A Negative blood."

"Hey, so do I!" exclaimed John.

"Mine's O Negative, same as Cap's, Chet's B Negative, and Marco is AB Negative." said Roy.

" Hmm, not something you see too much. An entire shift with the same Rh blood factor." Dr. Brackett remarked. "Anyway, Dix, CBC, Type and cross for 2 units, Bleeding and Clotting times, PT, PTT, Chem24, U/A, IV Normal saline. Oh Mike, if you need anything for pain, or to help you sleep, call the nurses and they'll get in touch with me."

"Thanks, Dr, Brackett. Let's get this thing over and done with. John, Roy, thanks for everything."

One hour later, Mike was firmly ensconced in his bed in room 434, sleeping soundly, as his crewmates headed back to the station. Unfortunately, his sound sleep did not last for long...

*Bright glare of light on metal. Thin metal, like a needle. But, who the Hell even made a needle that big? Where's it going?" *

*Oh crap, the lights, the cold then the heat. Please, not the pressure! Why are you doing this to me? Why can't I move? Why can't I scream? WHY??? *

Even though Mike Stoker's body appeared to be calmly resting, nothing could be further from the truth for his mind and soul. Finally, after what seemed like hours to Mike, he was released to the bliss of complete slumber.

The day after his discharge, as Mike made his way into the station house, a voice hailed him, "Hey, Michael! Welcome back pal! How ya feeling?"

"Great, Cap! How was your day off?" He answered, as the two of them headed to the locker room. They were swiftly followed by Marco, Roy, John, and with three minutes to spare, Chet. All greeted their engineer, making sure to tell him how much they missed him behind the wheel of "Big Red".

After a fairly busy day for the whole station, The six men were tiredly hitting their bunks, hoping against hope for a night without calls.


	3. Testing

As the men were sleeping soundly, they did not see the pale blue light that illuminated each of their faces in turn. Henry, on a 'night prowl', however, did. He growled lowly, then attempted to bark, to wake up his humans. The light aimed at him, and even though it appeared that he WAS barking, no sounds were heard. Clearly frightened, he hid underneath the nearest bunk.

The blue lights turned into one bright, glaring white light that fully illuminated the room, causing all the guys to wake up. But, they found out that they could not move at all, nothing except for their eyes. Except for Mike. He threw off his blanket, and stood beside his bunk, eyes vacant, hands at his side. Suddenly, another flash of light, and a small, child-sized creature stood next to him. It was hairless, with a bulbous head, no nose or ears, a slit where a mouth would be, and large, almond shaped black eyes. The small, skinny body with long arms and short legs, and the three-fingered hands, had totally convinced the guys that this was not a creature from their own planet. Fear clearly shown from their eyes, as they all wondered what was going on. Mike, however, remained still as a statue, still no expression on his handsome face.

The creature suddenly waved his hand over Mike, and the harsh white lighting got even brighter, causing his crewmates to close their eyes in defense. When they opened them, Mike was gone.

'Mike?'

'Where is he?'

'Where's Mike?'

'Oh, Dios mio, where did Mike go?'

'Michael!'

Each of the men thought, then realized they could actually hear what the others were thinking.

The alien looked at all of them and communicated, 'The one you call Mike is on board my ship. You are all next.'

Cap answered, 'You kidnap six LA County Firefighters, and you will have all sorts of problems with the law and our military.'

To this, the alien replied, 'No Earth time shall pass, when you return all will be as if you had never left. You all will not remember anything that has occurred, just like your comrade has done, each of the many times we have taken him.'

Chet wondered, 'Why was Mike taken separately? Why only him first?'

The reply was swift, though confusing, 'He has already been processed. You have not. There is no more time for talk. We go now.' The alien waved his hand, the bright light flared, and each of the 5 remaining men from Station 51 lost consciousness before disappearing with their alien captor, leaving only a very worried Henry walking through the dorm, softly whining.

Roy slowly opened his eyes, despite his pounding headache, and tried to check on all his crewmates. "Johnny? Cap? Marco? Chet? Mike? Guys, speak to me!" Carefully he sat up, finding that, the more he moved around, the less the pounding was. He heard groans from his fellow firefighters, and saw them all mimicking his actions. All but one. Mike was not with them.

As the men became more alert and functional, they took in their surroundings. They were in a room, bare walls, ceiling and floors all in a light gray tone. One wall consisted of an open area ringed with brighter blue lights, with the type of symbols that Mike had been doodling, at the top. Chet attempted to walk out through the opening, only to find himself thrown back to the floor. "Guys, I think this is some kind of force field, like on "Star Trek." Further investigation showed that all of them were dressed in soft, black, jumpsuit-like clothing. No one was hurt, and upon looking through the force field, they found their missing engineer and brother.

Mike was in the middle of a large, circular room which was connected to their own. He was laying on an examination-type table, nude, with a glowing, bluish-white energy pulsing around him. The room had multiple machines, with glowing buttons, switches, monitors, etc., all with the same strange symbols, convincing the men that Mike was in some sort of lab. He was unmoving, but his friends could see that he was breathing, and his eyes were open, but still not focused.

A door opened to the side, and two beings walked in. One was the small gray alien, the other stood about six feet tall and had reptilian features. It carried a small box, which had more flashing lights and symbols. Walking over to Mike, it moved the box over his body from head to feet, watching some sort of monitor on the wall by Mike's table. While it was doing this, the gray alien walked over to the men, stating, 'Your comrade calls me Pi. He is Sartoth. You are on my ship.' He walked away, coming to stand at Mike's side, across from Sartoth, looking at the tall alien, as if awaiting orders.

What happened next was the stuff that nightmares are made of. Sartoth made a clicking, buzzing-type sound, and Pi either waved his hand over a light, hit a button, or turned a dial. Each time this was done, Mike's body reacted. Some "tests" made his body relax, with an almost content look on his face, while others made him shiver, twitch, whimper, or scream horrifically. His friends watched, horror on their faces, as bloody tears flowed from his eyes, and more blood seeped from his nose, mouth, and ears, while his body arched in agony. It stopped abruptly, as Sartoth took a disc-like object and walked out of the room.

As soon as Sartoth left, the guys found their force field was off. Worried, they rushed to Mike's side, only to find out that his force field was still active. Mike turned to his friends, and they suddenly could hear his thoughts, too. 'Guys, I am so sorry I got you caught up in this.' Before they could answer, Pi appeared, and with a wave of his hand, cleaned away any evidence of Mike's suffering.

Cap turned to Pi, 'Why us?'

Pi answered, 'You have the blood of our ancestors.'

All the men were confused until Mike said, 'We all have Rh Negative blood. Evidently, it originally came from an extraterrestrial source.'

He started to explain further, when Pi interrupted, 'You have to go back to your holding area.' The guys started to protest, but found themselves moving to the room, as Pi said, 'Sartoth is coming back.' As soon as their force field turned back on, Pi turned back to Mike and said, 'You know what is next.' A single tear trickled from one eye, as Mike looked at his friends. All the guys felt mounting fear from their friend and brother.

Sartoth entered the room, and without hesitation, walked over to a tray with various tools and instruments on it. Picking up a long, needle-like instrument, he walked over to Mike and pushed it up into Mike's nose, causing Mike to scream with the pain. As they watched, the guys started yelling at Sartoth to stop, which had no affect. Looking at Pi, the larger alien clicked-buzzed something, making Pi come over to the men. 'Do not make noise, or Sartoth will either have me render you unconscious again, or send you to another part of the ship. If you want to support your comrade, do it through your thoughts. Do not anger Sartoth, as he may take it out on your friend.' The guys stopped yelling, and found out they could help Mike by sending him love and strength telepathically. 

The testing continued seemingly forever, as Sartoth used needles and other instruments (one even looked like a miniature ice cream scoop) to take samples from Mike's head, chest, abdomen, genitals, and extremities. Each time this was done, Mike screamed out in agony, which Sartoth seemed to be almost enjoying. Finally finished, he took his sample containers, and left the room, leaving Mike bloody, trembling, and panting.


	4. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to all who have read this, and especially to my wonderful commentators! Reviews keep me writing!
> 
> Also, should have done this at the start : This work is fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Just as Cap was ready to tell Pi to let them go to Mike, the bright light flashed again. This time, they were in an all-white room, with multiple padded benches, beds, and couch-like furniture. It was dimly lit, reducing the glare, so they all could see without problems. Mike was on one of the beds, and Pi was standing over him, using a device that skimmed beams of light over Mike's body, healing all of his injuries. One last wave of Pi's hand, and Mike was now in a jumpsuit like the others, except that his was all white. He slowly moved to sit up on the bed, and looked at his crewmates and brothers, a sad smile on his face.

"Guys, I am so very sorry." He said quietly.

"Sorry for what, pal? " Cap asked. 

"For getting you involved in all of this. " He replied.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. It doesn't really look like you had a choice on what happens here." Roy stated emphatically.

"Yeah, but I feel responsible. I've tried not to think of any of you while I've been here, but the last few times, the only way I felt I could keep my sanity and my life was to remember all the good times with you, my family. The only family I've ever really had. I know Sartoth picked up on that, and know that's why he took you all, too. He's a sadistic bastard, and loves to see me hurt. He told me he was going to make me stand next to him and watch as he makes you all suffer." Mike answered with a shudder.

All of his friends also shuddered, wondering to themselves if THEY could handle this terrible situation with all the bravery, grace, and calm that Mike was demonstrating.

"Mike, why all the needles and other tools? Were they taking samples from you?" John asked.

"Yes, they do this every time that I'm here." He replied.

"How many times have they taken you? Do you remember?" Chet asked, worrying his mustache with his lower teeth. 

"Best as I can remember, we're now in the 20's for total number of visits. I can only remember them when I'm here. When I get released back to Earth, that portion of my memory is blocked. I've been abducted since I was about 7 or 8 years old, and each time, Sartoth has been here. He's done the same things to me, except that, as I matured, the sperm samples have been increasingly more frequent. That's Pi's main purpose here. His race cannot breed, so certain of us humans are 'harvested' for our genetic material. Pi's peoples' DNA is also used, and somehow they are combined to produce offspring, which are implanted into abducted females, who carry the children until they're viable, then are removed to develop."

"Wow!" Marco exclaimed, "Do you know how many children you've fathered? Do you get to see them?"

"Yes, our children are encouraged to see us and learn from us, so they may be assimilated into Earth's population. I personally have fathered over 50." Mike stated quietly.

"Wow! 50? " The other men were all open-mouthed and eyes agog.

Mike laughed gently at this, and remarked, "But, remember, guys, not one of them had been conceived naturally." He opened his mouth to say more, when the lighting flickered in the room.

"Guys, each of you pick one of the couches or beds, and you'll all get to meet my children. " Mike said, as he sat back down on the bed, which quickly remolded itself to fit his body, as if he was sitting in a lounger/recliner. "If you need to get more comfortable, sit up, whatever, just think it. Somehow the furniture can read out minds."

As the men did as instructed, a door opened at the head of a long ramp. Streaming through the door were human appearing children of all ages. Most of them looked like Mike, although a few of them were either darker, or lighter toned, with a few having Oriental features. They were all sizes, and all were extremely beautiful. Smiling, they each walked over to Mike, giving him hugs and kisses, as they spoke, "Hello, Father."

After their greetings, they all dispersed to each of the other men, reaching out to them, not quite touching, just looking at their faces. They looked back to Mike, questioning silently.

"Guys, they want permission to touch you. That's how they can establish a telepathic link to you. After they do that, please, encourage them to speak out loud to you. This is going to help them to assimilate to being on Earth."

Cap reached out to the children gathering around him. He felt warmth, love, and serenity. "Hello, children." He said. To his surprise, all of them went to one knee, heads bowed. 

"No. On Earth we do not kneel." Mike's voice interjected, "Yes, I know I told you Hank was my leader, but you do not kneel unless told to. Greet him as you greet me."

Smiles all around, as Hank's lap was suddenly filled with little bodies, and hugs were given by everyone.

"Children, tell my friends your names that I gave you." Mike instructed, as he finished greeting the last of his children, then pulled down the front panel on his jumpsuit, leaving his chest bare. Two gray aliens appeared, holding cloth-wrapped bundles, which they brought to Mike. Unwrapping them exposed two tiny newborn sized babies, which were promptly placed on Mike's chest, giving skin to skin contact. "This is how we unlock their minds. My first contact is essential, as is their human mother's, plus the grays. They need continuing contact, so please, feel free to to touch and let them touch you, as well as talking to them." Mike finished, leaning back with the babies snuggled over his chest, lightly giving a kiss to each of their heads. None of Mike's brothers could ever remember seeing such a look of love and contentment on the engineer's face before.

Roy was grinning at the children, who were cuddling against him. Looking at his crewmates, he saw they all were in the same situation as he was. Little voices was quietly chattering, as their father looked on indulgently. "Hello, sir. May I call you Roy?" One asked, a little girl his daughter's size.

"Sure you can, what's your name?"

Big blue eyes looked up as she said, "Jennifer. My father names us, he says you have a Jennifer, too?" Roy nodded. Jennifer giggled, and said, "Bet ya she can't do this!" And made her blue eyes suddenly become almond shaped and totally black, like Pi's.

"Jennifer, remember, we don't do that?" Mike gently chastised.

"I'm sorry, Father." Jennifer said, twisting her hands together in front of her in an all-too human fashion.

"I'm not the one to apologize to." Mike calmly continued.

"Roy, I'm very sorry. Will you forgive me?" Jennifer asked shyly. For a moment, Roy almost believed the child was fully human. The sense of amusement he felt through his bond with Mike made him laugh, as he tugged the girl into a tight hug, saying, "Of course, sweetheart."

Meanwhile, Marco was totally enjoying speaking to the group snuggled with him, especially after Mike encouraged him to use Spanish, as the gray's wanted some of the children to be bilingual. He was in his element, nurturing instincts in full on mode, smiling lovingly.

Chet's group of children were all tight to the lineman, eyes wide as told some of his tales, and even used some of the Irish he could remember. "Water balloons" was heard at one point, and Mike's face turned to Chet and his followers, as they all turned back to Mike and parroted, "What? We haven't done anything!" before dissolving into fits of giggling.

John's little group were all very solemn, though totally engrossed in whatever John was saying, as he was speaking to them in the Lakota dialect. He had a tiny toddler on his lap, who had three fingers hooked over the bottom half of teeth, giving an occasional suck, as she contentedly listened, head on John's chest.

All the men seemed to be immensely enjoying themselves, forgetting for a moment the horrors which surrounded them outside of this room. All but one man.


	5. Fear -vs- Love

Mike absently kissed the tops of each of his babies' heads, expression not quite as serene as before. The children squirmed, becoming uncomfortable, as they sensed the change in their father's emotions, so the two grays who brought them over took them away, up the ramp and out the door.

Chewing his lower lip, Mike was lost in thought. Sartoth did not want the breeding program to continue. He wanted to enslave the human race. That is why he had been testing Mike, trying to see how much torture and pain the human race can endure. He has told this to Mike himself, when those times have emerged that Pi was not around to discover his plans. Even though Pi was the ship's owner and commander, Sartoth believed himself the superior race.

Mike shivered, thinking of the reptilian alien's breath hissing in his ear, as he lay helpless on the table, unable to protect himself.

'Oh, yes, Earth scum, you will not be returning to Earth as you have been doing in the past. I will be keeping you here with me. You will be taken to my planet, where I will either auction you off to the highest bidder at the slave auctions, or, I may keep you as my own slave. Which kind? Work you in the energy mines until your body gives out, or shall I take you as my personal pleasure slave? '

After hearing that, Mike's mind was bombarded with images of himself, clad in only skin-tight black scaled leggings, with black metal wrist and ankle cuffs. He was on his knees, with his hands cuffed behind his back. Around his neck was a black metal collar, one end of a short chain of black links connected to it, the other end held in Sartoth's scaly and clawed hands. The images that invaded Mike's mind after that left the man shaking with terror, and nauseated.

Suddenly, Mike felt warm hands on his head, arms, and hands. Opening his moist and blurred eyes, he noticed that his children were gone, and his fellow crewmates were gathered around him, looks of sorrow and an occasional flash of anger on their faces.

"Mike, it's okay. You are not going to be left here. We'll find a way to stop Sartoth. " Hank stated, voice breaking.

"How..." Mike started to say, when he felt another touch, this one cool and dry. Pi.

'Your shield dropped. Your comrades heard your thoughts, and saw your images, as did I. Sartoth is only here as a scientist, he is NOT in command of this vessel. I will not allow him to do this, even if I have to destroy my ship and all aboard.' Pi stated.

"No! Not my children, please! Let them live! " Mike tearfully pleaded, "If there's no other way to keep them safe than to have me go with Sartoth, then, I'll do it."

"Absolutely not! " Hank declared, "We WILL find a way to help, won't we guys? " He asked, looking around at his men, who all nodded.

"Please, don't end up endangering yourself trying to protect me. I could never forgive myself if one of you gets hurt. " Mike begged, "You all have family and friends who need you. Please, please, promise me! "

"Calm down, Mike," Roy soothed, " No one is going to get hurt if we can help it, but we are all going home together. Do you honestly feel we would leave you here without putting up a fight? "

"Yeah, believe it or not, but you're important to us, my friend." Marco added, squeezing Mike's shoulder.

" Besides, who else can drive Big Red, or fix fried chicken and spaghetti like you can? " Chet said.

"Mike, we'll find a way to beat him, " John started to say, when he was interrupted by Sartoth, who appeared with some sort of weapon in his hand, aiming it at Pi and the men.

' So, you told your comrades of my plan, Earth scum? Shall we, as you humans put it, make a deal? Your life for this useless one? ' As he spoke, he pulled one of the children in front of him, a small boy who was a mirror image of Mike. 

'Perhaps I will just take this one to train as my personal pleasure slave.'

"Michael. Oh, God, no, please," Mike's voice shook, "Please, don't hurt him."

'You know what I want. Give yourself to me, and I will release the child.' Sartoth demanded.

" Alright, I will come with you." Mike quietly said, ignoring his friends' protests, as he got up and slowly started walking towards Sartoth. As he got within reaching distance, Sartoth let little Michael go, striking out and grabbing Mike's shoulder, squeezing so tightly that his claws were digging into the flesh, drawing blood, making Mike cry out in pain. 

While all this was happening, John suddenly felt the cold, dry touch of Pi on his arm. 'Push the red button, then the yellow one. I am unable to reach them without Sartoth seeing me.' Pi's message came clearly, ' Sartoth cannot hear us, my shield is up and surrounding you.'

John pushed the two buttons, and the panel behind Sartoth exploded, while the ship suddenly lurched, throwing everyone off balance. Roy and Marco grabbed hold of the boy, while Hank and Chet headed for Mike and Sartoth.

Thick smoke from the damaged panel obscured their vision, as they fought the lurching of the ship, trying to get to their friend.

'Wait! Let me engage the environmental controls to clear the smoke away.' Pi's thought came through.

As the smoke was cleared away, Mike's crewmates felt their throats clench, and their hearts falter.

Sartoth was impaled on the wrecked remains of the panel. Unfortunately, so was Mike, who was lying directly against the alien's chest, hands still grasping Sartoth's throat. Both of them, man and alien, were in a rapidly expanding pool of blood, Mike's vibrant red, and Sartoth's shiny black.

" Mike! Oh, please, no!" Hank's voice cracked, tears starting to pool in his eyes.

Somber faced, Roy, John, and Marco all stepped forward, gently taking their friend's body away from the panel, placing him on the bed, while Chet cradled Michael against his chest, stroking the child's hair gently. 

"Pi, can you help him?" Hank pleaded.

'I am sorry. He is too badly damaged.' Pi answered, as he was carefully waving his hand over the body of the lifeless man. 'There is nothing I can do for him. Why did he do that? The explosion should have been enough to kill Sartoth.' Pi asked.

'To save my children and my friends.' The quiet thought echoed through each of their minds. 'Michael? Is he okay?'

'Father, I am here. I'm okay.' Michael said.

'Good. Tell everyone I love them, and goodbye.' Then abruptly, in their minds, a hole was left, as one life force drained away.

Tears fell, as silently, each of Mike's brothers said their final farewells. Even Pi seemed affected.

Michael, however, stood up straight, eyes closed, brow furrowed in concentration.

The lights flickered, and the door to the top of the ramp opened again. The children all came down it, just as they had done earlier. Now, however, there was no joy on their faces, all were as solemn as Michael.

Coming to Mike's bed, they all gathered as close as they could, the littlest ones being placed next to his body by the bigger children. Hands pulled away the front of his bloodied jumpsuit, then all the children somehow placed a hand on their father's body. Three of the oldest reached out to hold the guys' hands, linking them all together, minds suddenly becoming as one entity.

'Think only of love. Think of the love our father taught us. Concentrate.' Michael's thought echoed through all of their minds.

Mike's crewmates watched as a glow seemed to surround their friend and brother. Not the glaring whiteness of transport, not the blue of a force shield.

No, this one started off as a pale peach color, slowly deepening to rose, become stronger every second. Very shortly the glow was the color of blood, life giving in it's radiance.

As quickly as the glow started, it stopped, and a sound was heard.

One deep breath, then more.

From Mike.

"Hello Father, welcome back to us!" Little voices joined in with older ones, as smiles abounded, and hugs and kisses were shared. 

"How?" Mike started to ask, when one of the older children squeezed his hand and said, "Never underestimate the power of love."

'I'm sorry to say this, but, our time here is almost up. We can only remain here in orbit for so long. Children, say goodbye to your father and his comrades.' Pi stated.

This was done, and the children left, making the room feel strangely empty. Five very relieved men helped their crewmate to get up from the bed, and all turned toward Pi.

'Thank you, Pi, for helping us save Mike.' Hank said.

'Yes, thank you.' Mike added.

'I only provided the information. It was your comrade John who carried out the act.' Pi returned.

'Yeah, we made a great team.' John grinned.

'Pi, you won't be in trouble with Sartoth's people, will you? Will any of us be held liable for his death?' Marco asked.

'I think not. Our people do not hold well with slavery. Once Sartoth's purpose is revealed, his people will not be allowed to use our transports again, and his race does not have their own space ships.' Pi explained. 'It is time for me to return you all to your own space and time.'

Brightness flared, then darkness fell over the men of Station 51.

And a very happy hound made the rounds of each bunk, checking to make sure all of his humans were safe, before returning to his own bed on the couch, heaving a contented sigh.


	6. Epilogue

It was the usual traffic accident on the 405. 

Mike Stoker was helping the occupants of a station wagon out through the door. Gently reaching in, he handed the baby in it's car seat to Chet, then helped her older sister out, a little girl with bright blue eyes and light brown hair.

"Here you go, Sweetheart, it's okay now. You'll be okay." He crooned, rocking the little girl against his shoulder.

She hugged him tightly, and whispered, too quietly to be heard by anyone, "Thank you, Father."

And her eyes briefly became almond-shaped black orbs.


End file.
